Office Pool
by SilverBirchStudio
Summary: A peek at how Tommy Lynley and Barbara Havers are seen by others at the Met. Place your bets!


I've never read the Elizabeth George books (Tommy as a blond?!) but I am a huge of the BBC series, and I have borrowed the characters to play with just for fun and no profit to myself. I promise to return them unharmed...I hope you enjoy!

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"And this is where you'll be spending your life from now on. That desk is free, make yourself at home," Detective Sergeant Susan Rankin said, gesturing around the open plan office, with its fluorescent lighting, run down desks and abandoned coffee cups, her voice as jaded as a thirty-year veteran who has seen it all could be.

"Welcome to the oh-so glamorous world of the Met's homicide and serious crime division."

Rankin looked over at baby-faced Detective Constable Meg Taylor as the younger woman surveyed the scene before her with wide eyes, and shook her head. This one's fresh off the farm for sure. We'll see how long she lasts. Still, presumably she wouldn't have made it out of Suffolk if she didn't have something happening in that brain of hers.

Taylor began placing items into her desk, but clearly only half her attention was on the task. Her eyes scanned the office space, surveying the room and its occupants, until her gaze stopped. She sat, desk drawer open and box of supplies forgotten as she stared across the room as though she had spotted a particularly delectable piece of chocolate cake.

"Oh, my, tall dark and handsome! He actually makes the place feel quite glamorous. I wouldn't mind getting him alone in an interrogation room - after hours, of course!"

Rankin didn't even have to look to guess who the object of Taylor's affection was. "Detective Inspector Tommy Lynley. He also happens to be the Earl of Asherton. You aren't the first and definitely won't be the last to drool over that one. Don't waste your time, love."

"An earl and all, is he?" The younger woman hadn't taken her eyes off the tall, dark haired man since she had first spotted him. "So why is he unavailable? Is he married?"

"He was, but she died about three years ago now. Tragic, it was, but that's not the reason you shouldn't get your hopes up. He has a…well, call it a 'special' relationship with his sergeant. They're sort of legendary here at the Met, Lynley and Havers. They bicker constantly, always pushing each other's buttons, but nobody dares to come between them. Highest solve rate in the division, too."

"So they're sleeping together, then?"

"No one knows for sure, but we've got an office pool going about it, if you want in." Rankin laughed, shaking her head. "McCormack started the pool a while ago, although I don't know how the truth of it will ever be proved one way or another."

"I'll have to see them together before I decide. She must be very beautiful to catch his attention."

"Havers? No, not really. I mean, she's just Barbara Havers. Good copper, but she couldn't care less about clothes or hair or makeup. She'd probably clean up all right if she ever took the trouble, I suppose."

"If I had a crack at a toff like him, I'd make sure I looked the part to keep his attention."

"Oh, Havers has his attention all right. You'll see, when the two of them are together, it's as if there's no one else in the room."

"Sounds like a challenge to me. Go on then, introduce me to his lordship."

Rankin shook her head at the younger woman, laughing at her just a bit. "Might as well, I suppose, since I can see nothing will get done until you've met him. Tuck your tongue in, then. Try not to embarrass yourself too much!"

Taylor rolled her eyes at this advice, but when Rankin caught the detective inspector's eye and waved him over, the younger woman straightened her posture and ran a hand over her hair to smooth it down.

"Lynley, meet DC Meg Taylor. She's just joined us. Fresh meat."

"Welcome to the Met. I'm sure DS Rankin will have you up to speed in no time. She knows this division better than anyone."

Taylor decided the DI was even better up close than he had seemed across the room. His smile crinkled the corners of his eyes in a way that made her feel a bit weak in the knees, and his handshake was firm, his hand warm. He met her eyes as he spoke, unlike so many blokes who talked to a girl's chest instead. Too delicious.

He glanced away from her, looking toward the other side of the room at someone coming in, and Taylor watched Lynley's expression completely transform. His smile went from friendly to incandescent, his face lit up, even his brown eyes seemed to have a warm, amber glow inside them all of the sudden.

Taylor followed his line of sight, expecting to see something extraordinary to account for the transformation. Instead she saw a rather ordinary looking woman, with reddish-gold hair scraped back away from her face, wearing a rather sorry looking faded jumper and an oversized coat that did her figure no favors at all.

"Havers!" Lynley called out to the woman, waving her over. She smiled widely when she saw him, and walked toward them.

As the woman approached, Taylor decided she might have to reassess her opinion of the her looks. She wore no makeup, and her outfit was atrocious, but she did have beautiful eyes and lovely high cheekbones…so this was Barbara Havers. She walked up to Lynley and was short enough to have to tilt her head back to look up at him as she handed him a cup of coffee.

Lynley beamed down at her as he took the coffee, and in that moment, Meg Taylor was sure that if she stripped all her clothes off right then and there, neither Lynley nor Havers would even notice.

"Hullo, Havers," Rankin said finally, when the pause had stretched out just a bit longer than was strictly comfortable.

"Sorry, yes. Havers, this is Meg Taylor, our newest DC. And Meg, this is my partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers."

"Good to have another woman here at the old boy's club that is the Met. I'm sure Susan here will show you the ropes, but let me know if there's anything I can to do to help you settle in," Barbara said.

"Thanks very much. I'm looking forward to working here."

Lynley and Havers headed off to his office, and Taylor watch the pair walk away before she returned to the task of organizing her desk.

"So now you've met them, are you having a go at our handsome DI? Or placing a bet in the office pool?" Rankin asked.

Taylor met the other woman's eyes. "I know you think I'm fresh off the bus and a bit of a fool and all that, but I'm not stupid. I know a lost cause when I see one, and a fiver says they're shagging."

"Smart girl. I think you'll do well here, Taylor."


End file.
